Priebus-led RNC rights the fundraising ship

After his election as Republican National Committee chairman a year ago, Reince Priebus inherited an organization that was more than $20 million in debt and that had lost some of its biggest donors.

Additionally, Priebus got off to a slow start; as this author wrote back in July, the RNC under his watch actually raised less in the second quarter of 2011 than the Michael Steele-led RNC did in the second quarter of 2009.

But things have begun to turn around for Priebus on the fundraising front.

After raising just $37.3 million in the first half of 2011, the RNC raised nearly $51 million in the second half -- actually outraising the Democratic National Committee over that same period of time. (However, the DNC outraised the RNC for all of 2011, about $110 million to $88 million.)

What's more, the RNC has cut its debt in half -- from more than $20 million in January to $11.8 million now.

And in a reversal of Steele's biggest shortcoming -- which was spending, not necessarily raising money -- the RNC currently has more than $23 million in the bank as of Jan. 31, compared with the DNC's more than $15 million.

RNC officials point to a few reasons for the turnaround. One, they've lured back some of the big donors who jumped ship during the Steele era. Two, they've been more effective (and cost-effective) in getting grassroots donors to contribute (raising $5.9 million out of its $10.4 million Jan. 2012 from those giving less than $200). And three, they've made a concerted effort to show RNC donors -- both big and small -- the fruits of their labors (like their web videos).

"They want to know we're making the case [against President Obama and the Democrats] every day," RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer tells First Read.

Below is a month-by-month look at the RNC vs. DNC fundraising since Jan. 2011: